David Silva can still improve at Manchester City, insists Pep Guardiola
Monday 10 April 2017 10:41, UK
Pep Guardiola has insisted David Silva can still improve at Manchester City, likening the midfielder to Spanish compatriots Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
Silva joined City in 2010 from Valencia in a £26m transfer, and the 31-year-old has gone on to make 300 appearances for the club, clocking up the milestone against Hull on Saturday.
City boss Guardiola worked with Xavi and Iniesta at Barcelona and he has insisted Silva is right up there, adding that his best may be yet to come.
"When I say I'm a lucky guy, it's because I was with Xavi, Iniesta and now with Silva. All three are outstanding players," said Guardiola.
"Silva impresses me every day. To make 300 games is not easy. It's just a big congratulations to him. He's been a big success and hopefully he can play lots more games here in Manchester.
"Hopefully we can make him become a better player. I would like to feel that what he has done is not enough, and he can believe he can do better for his own career."
Silva has notched 49 goals for City in seven seasons and Guardiola has highlighted this as an improvement area.
"Always I said he had to score goals because if Silva scores goals he would have been... you cannot imagine because he has absolutely everything: the mentality, a competitor, everything.
"I remember when I was in Barcelona," Guardiola said. "The first or second year I was there, Unai Emery, who is now the PSG trainer, was there [at Valencia].
"After the game we spoke about that and he told me, 'David Silva is the player for you, for Barcelona. Believe me, that is a player for Barcelona by far'. And he was so right, he's a special player.
"He has something more special than awards. Awards are to put in the wardrobe.
"The opinion we will have in the future about his career will not be about how many individual prizes he has won. It will be about the opinion of his team-mates and his managers."
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